Printing-press.



H. F. BBGHMAN.

PRI1\T"1`II\`Gv PRESS.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 21, 1903.

Patented Sept. 6,1910.

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H. I'. BBGHMAN.

PRINTING PRESS.

APPLIGATIoN FILED MAY 21, 1903.

969,5 1 4. Patented Sept. 6, 1910.

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H. F. BEGHMAN.

PRINTING PRESS.

-APPLIOATION FILED MAY g1, 1903.

Patented Sept,6,191().

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'UNITED sTATEs rarnNr onirica.

HENRY F. BECHMAN, 0F BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO DUPLEX PRINTINGPRESS COMPANY, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN.

PRINTING-PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 6, 1910.

Application filed May 21, 1903. Serial No. 158,148.

To all whom t 'may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. BECHMAN, of Battle Creek, in the county ofCalhoun and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Printing-Presses; and I hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which form partof thisspecification.

This invention is an improvement in stationary-bed traveling cylinderweb perfecting presses, of the Cox-duplex type, such as shown in thePatent to Jos. L. Cox, llo. 478,503 of July 5, 1892.

The object of the present invention is to provide such a press with athird printing couple located above and parallel with the other beds andcylinders, and capable of being used conjointly therewith to print alarge newspaper, or of being placed out of operation when it is desiredto print a smaller paper. By the employment of this upper extra bed andcylinder the size of the newspaper which can be printed on an ordinaryduplex press can be increased one half, and produced in the same timethat the ordinary sized paper can be produced. This improvement addsmaterially to the utility and productiveness of the machine, largelyincreases its capacity for work, and renders it capable of producing anysize of news papers up to l2 pages, at each operation.

The essential features of the invention and the novel parts andcombinations thereof for which protection is desired will be summai-izedin the claims, and are fully understood from the following explanation,and accompanying drawings.

Figure l represents a diagrammatical longitudinal vertical sectionthrough the complete machine, showing the arrangement of beds andcylinders, and web feeding and guiding mechanism. Fig. 2 is a broken topplan view of F ig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end view. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sideelevation of one of the cross heads, and Fig 5 a detail vertical sectionon line 5 5 Fig. 4.

A, A, A2 designate three type beds located above one another in threesuperposed parallel planes; coacting with each type bed is a cylinder B,B, B2 which are journaled in reciprocating cross heads mounted in guideson the opposite side frames of the press, said cross heads carrying webguide rollers Z), ZJ, o2 on opposite sides of each cylinder, andsuitable inking mechanism, (not show-n) as commonly used in thesepresses.

The main web comes from a roll W passes through the feed rolls ordevices C, in passing which it is longitudinally divided by a slit-terc, it passes then under a stationary guide d, up over a looping rollere, down under a fixed guide a, over rollers b, under cylinder B, to aguide and coaXing roller d at which point the two portions 10 w of themain web separate. The part Iw of the web passes up over a guide andcoaXer roller Z2 back over rollers 5 and under cylinder B to astationary guide a thence down under a looping roller e', over astationary guide d3, and thence over suitable guides to and between thedelivery rolls or devices F, from whence it passes to the foldingmechanism. The part w of the main web passes from roll d onto adeflector which may be composed of angle bars or rolls D D by which itis brought back above and in line with the part fw, but passes up to andover a stationary guide and coaXing roll D parallel with and aboveroll-cl2, thence it passes under guide D2 to and over guides b2 andunder cylinder B2 to a stationary guide a2, down under a looping rollere3, over a stationary guide D3, to the delivery rolls G, G, or othersuitable delivery mechanism, by whence it passes over suitable guides tothe folding mechanism.

The web to2 comes from a second roll W, conveniently located at thefront end of press, or elsewhere if desired, and passes over suitableguides above the top bed and cylinder to the rolls G, G', at one side ofweb fw', passing rollers G oppositely to web w', so that the two websare fed opp'ositely by the rollers, as indicated in drawings. Thence webto2 passes over guide H, under stationary guide H up over looper e2,down under guide H2 up over guide a2, to and over guides b2 undercylinder B2, to and over a coaXer H3 above and parallel with roller cl2down under guide H4 back to and over rollers b and under cylinder B toguide a down under looper e over guide Z3 to delivery rolls F, as shownin the drawings.

From the foregoing description and drawings it will be noted that thewebs fw, w', lie side by side and move in same direction over bed A andunder cylinder B, receiving the first impressions from forms on bed A.That web w is then returned directly between the cylinder B and bed Areceiving perfected impressions from .type on bed A, and passes thenceto the delivery, this being the course of the web in the ordinarytwohigh bed and cylinder COX-duplex press. It will also be seen that theweb fw after being first impressedy on bed A, is perfected by cylinderB2 on bed A2, (web yw being defiected so as to come over the length ofweb w overlying bed A,) web w being printed on beds A, A2. It will alsobe noted that web 1.02 is first printed from forms on bed A2 by cylinderB2, passing between said cylinder and bed in a direction opposite to theweb w, but running beside the latter; web w2 is then perfected fromforms on bed A by cylinder B. ruiming between said bed and cylinderbeside and in the same direction as web fw.

'lVeb 102 is fed into the press by the same mechanism which feeds outweb w, and for this purpose it is preferable to make the part of rolls Gwhich feed. in web 102, very slightly less in diameter than the partwhich feeds out web w, or to so construct the combined feeding anddelivery mechanism that the web will be fed out sufficiently fast tokeep it taut, and fed in sufliciently fast to supply the demands of thepress. Further web w2 is fed out and delivered by the saine mechanismand at the same speed as web w.

The several looping rollers e, e, e2, c3, may all be mounted on the sameequalizer bars and moved synchronously by the cams E2, such as areemployed in the ordinary duplex presses. The feeding and deliverymechanisms correspond in construction and functions with those of saidduplex presses and are such that the webs are continuously fed to anddelivered from the printing mechanism, while the portions thereofextending between the beds and cylinders are momentarily stopped duringthe actual printing periods, as described in said CoXs patent.

The two lower cylinders A, A, are journaled in cross-heads I havinginternal ribs I guided in ways I2 on the side frames of the press, andreciprocated by means of pitmen J connected to crank wheels J on themain drive shaft J 2 as in the ordinary dupleX press. The upper cylinderB2 is journaled in cross-heads z' having internal ribs 2'. guided inways 2 on the sides of the press above bed A and parallel with guideways I2. The cross-heads I, z', might be integral, but I prefer to makethem separate and provide means for rigidly but detachably connectingthem, so that when connected they will reciprocate as one, and thenecessity for eXtra driving mechanism for the upper cylinder be avoided.

As shown the cross-head z' is provided with a depending lug 3, whichlits a recess I in the adjacent cross-head I; a stud IL is rigidlysecured to this cross-head I and passes through the lug i and is boundthereto by a nut 4, (see Fig. Lt). This forms a simple rigid connectionbetween cross-heads I, z', while permitting ready detachment orseparation thereof. This lug 3 is on the end of the crosshead nearestthe drive wheels, and is put in this place because the greatest loadwhen reversing comes on the fast center, and with the lug in thisposition, the strain of the load does not come on the stud. The load onthe stud occurs when press is passing over the slow center, and thestrain is very light as compared with that of reversing.

Then it is desired to print only a small, or eight page paper, thecross-heads z' can be disconnected from cross-heads I, after being movedout to the farthest position to the right, and the upper cylinder willthen remain idle during the operation of the others, the lpress thenbeing threaded and operated as an ordinary duplex press.

To recapitulate briefly, the operation of the press is as follows, whenprinting a twelve-page paper, the main web is inches wide-which is thewidth of the ordinary eiglit-page roll. This web, however, is split whenpassing through the lower feed rolls, as shown, and of course passesthrough the lower printing couple as two independent webs. After passingthe lower printing couple, both webs pass under coaXer roll marked CZ.At this point, the two webs separate, one w passing over guide (2, onthe drive side of press, and through printing couple on middle bed, thenthrough the equalizers to the delivery in the usual manner. Now, goingback to where the webs separate at CZ, the web i0 on plain side of presspasses over angle-bars, and over coaxer roll D, and through printingcouple on top bed, on drive side, and then on through the top equalizerand into the upper delivery.

The four pages which are printed on the lower bed, are backed up l onthe middle and upper beds, that is, the opposite sides are printed onthe middle and top beds. This is done in order to run the four-page webfrom paper roll IV on the plain side of press--a straight-linerun-without passing over any angle-bars until after passing into thefolder.

The first printing on the four-page web wg from paper roll 1V is done onthe top bed, on plain side of press, after which it passes over coaxerroll H?, and down and under coaXer roll Ht, and then through printingcouple on middle bed, on plain side of press, and then through theequalizers in the usual inannei, and into the upper delivery.

The rolls G have two sizes. This is necessary in order to have a littlemore speed on drive side of press to comb the web after passing throughthe printing couples, and be of proper size to feed the right amount ofpaper on the plain side of press.

The upper cross-head, which carries the upper cylinder, may be detachedfrom the main cross-head, which carries the two lower cylinders. Thenthus detached, only the two lower beds are used, as when printing eightpages, or less.

lVhen changing from a twelve-page paper' to a ten-page paper, it willonly be necessary to use a 53 inch roll instead of the T0 inch, and runthrough in the manner heretofore described, having the narrow portion ofthe web, after being split at lower feed rolls, on drive side of press,and the two-page width on plain side. This narrow web should passthrough the lower and middle printing couples, and when folded, thenarrow sheet is between the two four-page sheets. This is done for thepurpose of keeping the narrow sheet in place, and when the paper isopened it will not leave the position in which it was placed by thefolder.

It is preferable to superimpose the two halves of the wide web and printsame, one on the middle bed and the other on the upper bed. rIbis isdone to avoid turning the web L02 completely over, for if the web wereturned completely over, it would be necessary to turn so many anglesthat it would malte it dangerous for web shifting in the printingcouples, and especially where the web has to be shifted intermittently.It would be easy to do if the web at this point was continuouslyrunning, but it is very diiiicult to do with an intermittently shiftingweb.

Color printing may also be done on this machine, and more colors usedthan on the eight-page duplex press. For instance, the narrow, or, as itis commonly called, fourpage web, which is printed on the plain side ofpress, after passing through upper feed rolls, is passed around roll H,and H, over equalizer roll e2, and around roll H2, up and over roll a?,over roll b2, under cylinder B2, over roll 62, over roll H3under H4, andover Z1', under cylinder B, over b, and over af, around e, over (Z3, andinto the delivery rolls F, then in the usual manner around the anglebarsand up to the top of the former, and then, instead of going into thefolder, is carried back to the feed rolls C, on drive side of press, ledtherethrough, and then passed in the usual manner through the firstprinting couple A, B, then around coaxer rolls (Z and (Z2, through thesecond printing couple B A, over the equalizers or loopingl rollers, tothe delivery rolls and back in the usual manner to the top of theformer, and down into the folder. It will be observed from the foregoingdescription, that this particular web passes through two of the printingcouples four times-two on plain side and two on drive side of press.Meanwhile, a four-page roll is placed in the machine, on plain side ofpress, and is printed in first printing couple, on lower cylinder B,then passed around cl', and around the angle-bars, vand up over coaXerroll D, and through the upper printing couple on drive side of press,then passed over the equalizers or looping rollers to the delivery rollsG, and is assembled with the first web at top of former, this method ofthreading the webs will produce an eight-page paper in colors.

The invention is not restricted to the mechanical embodiment thereofillustrated in the drawings, nor to the particular construction ofprinting couples, or feeding and delivering mechanism, and

Having thus fully described and eX- plained its essential features andparts, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. In a printing press, three printing couples, arranged one above theother in parallel planes with means for feeding three webs through thecouples so that they shall be perfected thereby, each couple act-ingupon twoof the webs, substantially as described.

2. In a printing press, three printing couples, arranged in parallelplanes, and means for guiding three webs through the press, one webbeing perfected by the first and second couples, a second web by thefirst and third couples, and a third web by the third and secondcouples, substantially as described.

3. In a printing press, the combination of three printing couples, eachcomprising a bed and a co-acting cylinder, with means for feeding threewebs through the couples to be perfected thereby, each couple actingupon two of the webs.

t. In a printing press, the combination of three printing couples, eachcomprising a bed and co-acting cylinder arranged in parallel planes, andmeans for feeding three webs through the press, 011e web being perfectedby the first and second couples, the second web by the first and thirdcouples, and the third web by the third and second couples, allsubstantially as described.

5. In a printing press, the combination of three stationary type beds, atraveling cylinder co-acting with each bed, means for reciprocating thecylinders, means for guiding webs of paper between the rst and secondbeds and cylinders; means for guiding webs of paper between the firstand third beds and cylinders, and means for guiding webs of paperbetween the second and third beds and cylinders, substantially asdescribed.

6. In a printing press, the combination of three stationary paralleltype beds arranged one over the other, a traveling cylinder coactingwith each bed, means for simultane- I ously reciprocating the cylinders,means for guiding a web of paper between the first and second beds andcylinders, means for guiding a web. of paper between the first and thirdbeds and cylinders, means for guiding web of paper between the secondand third beds and cylinders, whereby one, two or three webs may beperfected, and means for throwing one cylinder out of operation when athird web is not printed, substantially as described.

7. ln a printing press, the combinatio-n of three printing couplesarranged in parallel planes. means for feeding a wide web and forslitting said web into two parts before reaching the printing mechanism,means for leading one portion of the split web between two of theprinting couples to be perfected thereby; means for leading the otherportion of the split web between two printing couples to be perfectedthereby, means for leading a third web between two of the printingcouples to be perfected thereby, and means for assembling the websbefore folding', substantially as described.

8. A printing press comprising three type beds arranged in threesuperposed parallel planes, three cylinders co-acting with the beds, andmeans for guiding webs between the beds and cylinders so that they shallbe perfected thereby, each web passing between two of the beds andcylinders, and web feeding and web delivering mechanism, substantiallyas described.

9. A printing press comprising three stationary type beds arranged inthree superposed parallel planes, and three reciprocating cylindersco-acting with the beds; with means for guiding webs through the pressso that they shall be perfected thereby at each operation of the press,web feeding and web delivering mechanism, and a single mechanism forloopingthe webs, substantially as described.

l0. A printing press comprising three type beds, arranged one above theother in three superposed planes, three impression cylinders co-actingwith said beds, means for directing webs between the beds and cylindersso as to be perfected thereby, web feeding mechanism and web deliveringmechanism, and a single mechanism for looping all the webs; with meanswhereby one cylinder can be kept out of operation when it is desired toprint a less number of webs, substantially as described.

ll. A printing press comprising three stationary type beds arranged oneover the other in three superposed planes, three traveling impressioncylinders co-acting with said beds, means for guiding webs between thebeds and cylinders, so as to be perfected thereby at each operation ofthe press, web feeding mechanism and web delivering mechanism, and asingle mechanism for looping all the webs; with means for placing one ofthe cylinders out of operative condition.

12. A printing press comprising three parallel stationary type beds,arranged one abo-ve the other in three superposed planes, threeimpression cylinders co-acting with said beds, means for reciprocatingsaid cylinders over the beds, means for directing webs between the bedsand cylinders so as to be perfected thereby at each operation of thepress, web feeding mechanism and web delivering mechanism, and a singlemechanism for looping all the webs; with means whereby one cylinder canbe put out of operation when it is desired to print a less number ofwebs, substantially as described.

13. The combination in a web printing press of three stationary formbeds arranged in three superposed parallel planes, a travelingimpression cylinder co-acting with each bed, a reciprocating mechanismfor actuating said impression cylinders, connections whereby one of saidimpression cylinders may be thrown out of operation and the other twokept in operation; with web guides, webL feeding mechanism, web deliverymechanism, and a single mechanism for looping all the webs.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I aflix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

HENRY F. BEGHMAN.

In presence of- FRANK XV. DUNNING, GUY H. FENN.

